Junior Snooker
The WPBSA is committed to creating opportunities for children and young adults around the world to pick up a cue and play snooker.
Whether recreationally, or competitively, snooker is one of the most inclusive sports available for young people and the WPBSA and its group of organisations are supporting this through various initiatives.
Get Started
If you are a parent your child has their sights on becoming the next Judd Trump or Reanne Evans, or you are looking for a sport that they can learn in a safe and welcoming environment then look no further.
Find Your Club
The first steps – unless you are lucky enough to have a table at home! – will include finding a club for your child to play at and learn the game.
To help you find the best club for you check out the WPBSA Club Finder. This includes two tiers of clubs
- 147 Clubs – These clubs are part of our official WPBSA Club Affiliation scheme and are recognised for meeting our minimum standards for providing a safe environment within which to play snooker
- Places to Play – These clubs do not have a link to the WPBSA or its affiliation scheme.
The majority of clubs currently listed on our Club Finder are based in England, however, this will be further expanded to include international clubs in the future.
Find Your Coach
To help your child to improve their game and reach their potential you may wish to consider organising lessons with one of our officially qualified WPBSA Snooker Coaches.
Learn more and find your nearest coach using the WPBSA Coach Finder.
England
English Snooker is governed by the English Partnership for Snooker and Billiards (EPSB) which offers regular tournaments for children of all ages. These include open age competitions, as well as age restricted groups as low as Under-14s.
The EPSB launched a new summer schools initiative across the country in 2019 which saw over 100 junior players get involved, helping to develop ‘young leaders’ aged 14-16 who have supported the courses.
In 2023, the EPSB Junior Elite Performance Programme was also created as a new talent pathway programme aimed at helping to support the best young snooker players in England with the tools required both on and off the table to embark upon a successful career in snooker.
The EPSB is also affiliated to UPC which will help to provide more opportunities for students within the UK to represent their university within cuesports.
Elite Talent
For the most talented players around the world who aspire to be the next Judd Trump or Ronnie O’Sullivan it is crucial that a pathway exists to help these players to fulfil their potential and ultimately join the World Snooker Tour.
Examples of how we provide this pathway can be found below:
World Snooker Federation Junior Championship
First held in 2020, the WSF Junior Open is an annual event open to amateur junior players from around the world, which carries the coveted prize of a two-year professional tour card for its winner
Aimed at the sport’s elite emerging talent, the tournament can count the likes of China’s Gao Yang, Ukraine’s Anton Kazakov, England’s Stan Moody and Hungary’s Bulcsu Revesz among its former champions, with the likes of leading junior players including Aaron Hill, Antoni Kowalski, Ben Mertens, Iulian Boiko, Robbie McGuigan having also competed in the event.